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Salt Lake City - Today, Lieutenant Governor Greg Bell released the attached letter to Utahns For Ethical Government (UEG) declaring they have not met all of the statutory requirements in qualifying their initiative petition for the general election ballot.

On August 12, 2009, UEG filed their petition application with the Lieutenant Governor's Office. In order to be in statutory compliance and qualify their petition for the ballot, UEG then had until April 15, 2010, to submit the petition signatures to the county clerks for verification and certification. On June 1, 2010, Lieutenant Governor Bell, after reviewing the certified signatures from the county clerks, declared their petition insufficient in accordance with Utah Code 20A-7-207.

In making his decision, Lieutenant Governor Bell considered many factors which are outlined in the attached letter to UEG. His conclusions include:

UEG did not qualify for the 2010 election, and, therefore, under the statute would be required to start over.

UEG did not "qualify the petition" in the time provided by the Utah Code.

Once a petition is determined to be insufficient, signatures cannot be reused. To continue a new application must be submitted and new signatures collected.

In June 2010, Lieutenant Governor Bell's concerns were sent to UEG in a letter written by the Attorney General's office, which clearly stated the reasoning and asked for UEG's input. The letter was never answered.

Given the circumstances, Lieutenant Governor Bell has found no reason to change his June 1, 2010, decision of insufficiency.